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Tag: Tall Ceilings

Oh oh, I found some really bad design in a home up in Plano listed with Cindy O’Gorman for $2,365,000. All I can say, if all these dramatic drapes come with the house, play Scarlett O’Hara and whip them into a dress. Or use them to cover up that purple furniture.

And note how the dining room furniture is dwarfed by those tall ceilings?

This soft soft contemporary at 6951 Forest Glade Circle proves how well you can live in Dallas for half a million dollars. Very private street right off Hillcrest just south of Royal — you may have to tip the Dominoes guy a little more when he finally finds your door. Otherwise, you will love the serenity of this setting. (This home is also a great example of why North Dallas living is so great — you have space around you, and greenery!) Herringbone patterned wood floors, open & bright floor plan with tall ceilings, this 3596 square foot home is a great size and was built in 1970. You know what I think? Downsizing Boomer. I’ll be honest: I’d re-do the circa 2000 kitchen. But do not touch the first floor master bedroom & bath renovated, beautifully renovated, in 2009. Two more bedrooms on the first floor with Jack and Jill bath, and bedroom number four is upstairs. Four bedrooms total, and four baths. Lush foliage & pretty fountain can be viewed from most rooms. Steps from a beautiful creek that has all the benefits of creek views but is far enough away to skip the nasties — like critters!

Got you in under $500K this week: Forest Glade is on the market for $499,500, which is, I think, a pretty fair price. Do you?

Look at this! 6621 Muirfield Circle in Plano, only $690,000 for 4591 square feet on a one-half acre lot right on the Prestonwood Country Club golf course! Lewisville schools, two story atrium living area, granite floors, walls of glass overlooking the greens, custom kitchen — I’m not too crazy about that color of wood, are you? These are definitely tall ceilings, but the bedrooms do not look drafty or oversized, and there are four of them plus a library/study. The outdoor living area features a kitchen, waterfall, firepit, and oodles of views of that golf course. Plenty of room for a pool if you are so inclined. Built in 1997, which makes her what, 14 years old?

Rudy Bush at the Dallas Morning News reports that Developer Leobardo Trevino, whose company, Ricchi Dallas Investments is currently renovating the old LTV Tower at 1600 Pacific, has purchased The Statler Hilton, once one of Dallas’ finest downtown hotels. Trevino apparently plans to gut much of the building while maintaining its historic facade and important elements like the lobby. Trevino also purchased the Dallas Central Library and plans to re-develop both buildings. Be sure to click on the developer’s plans.

“We believe this is going to be a great icon again. This building is going to do what it did in 1956,” Trevino said.

He said that the building does have challenges, but that he sees many more positives.

“I don’t see an obstacle that would be an impediment. We have the issue with the parking, but we are considering converting the basement and some of the unused space,” he said.

“People complain about 8-foot tall ceilings; we don’t see nothing wrong with them. We don’t see a big challenge. The biggest challenge is the size of the building,” he said.

Enter the skeptics: Ricchi Development Group is also redoing the 1600 Pacific / LTV Tower project on Elm into what I heard was going to be the area’s first condo-hotel. Everyone is happy the building sold, but a bit skeptical about Ricchi and whether he has the resources to see the project through. Is he spreading himself too thin? The LTV Tower has been gutted for months, with only some renderings and a tiny website to show for it: http://www.thegrandricchi.com/.

The concept behind condo-hotels is actually pretty cool:¬† the developer sells the room,¬† usually an oversized hotel room with a mini-kitchen that includes a dishwasher, fridge, and maybe mini-stove, to the owner/investor who can use it when he wants, but rent it out as a hotel when he‚Äôs not using it. The developer collects the money, builds the unit, then takes a management/maintenance fee off renting it. Investor gets a little return, too.

Of course, if it remains vacant, no cash flow for either of them.

It‚Äôs a lot like fractional ownership, which is a huge trend in vacation homes, except the hotel units tend to be smaller. The Mission hotel condos are priced at $189,000.